Now, Mohandas was obssessed with the idea of looking cultured to demonstrate that living on vegetables does not make one a stupid ass.
He decided to look smart. To do that he got English three piece suits tailored and bought hat to go with it. Evening and dinner suit was also ordered. He wrote to his family to send his golden chain. He learnt the art of knotting tie.
For hours he would stand before the mirror tying knot again and again to gain perfection. He would comb his hair in different styles to find out the most suited one. Then, he practised different walking styles. Looking cultured took a lot of effort and time.
That was not all. A gentleman must be able to dance. Ballroom dancing was the ultimate test of being cultured. He bought an expensive violin. He learnt the proper use of knife and fork and all other table manners.
He invested a lot of time and money in this culture vulture campaign.
One day he wondered over that exercise.
He thought, All this show off exercise does not make sense. I must think of my brother too who is raising finance for my education going through what hardships I do not know. To appear civilised costly dresses, dancing and other expensive things can help little or can only create fleeting impression. Shouldn’t good character and honesty be the only yardsticks to prove civility? Why should a student bother about all these things at all? The duty of the student is only to imbibe education.
Mohandas gave up all culture vulture exercises. He used to get swayed by outside influences but he had the capacity to pull back and let the call of his conscience take control sooner or the later. That inner strength was the real factor that raised non- descript Monia into Mahatmahood.
The law course was progressing. Now the time Mohandas used to spend on culture vulture exercise came to be invested in learning some other foreign languages mainly of Europe. Suddenly, he had become money conscious and cut down his unnecessary expense to lessen the burden of his brother. He started cooking at home to further save money. He now maintained account that accounted for every penny.
His life had become very simple now. And his mind began to think high. He was no more a confused young man suffering various pressures.
He has revealed—‘No one should take it that simplicity had made my life uninteresting. Infact it brought uniformity of my inside and outside life. Then, there was satisfaction that I am not putting undue burden on my family. My life had now more truth. My soul was extremely happy.’
Mohandas was now changing fast as if new realisations were dawning on him. He was getting restless like a bird chick eager to spread its wings.
Then, Mohandas Gandhi met Sir Edvin Arnold, the chairman of an organisation of vegetarians. Mohandas was elected as a member of the working committee as a result of their association. Here he showed his talent that have been dormant so far. He overtook his fellow students in studies. He passed Bar-at-Law examination along with matriculation besides learning French and Latin languages.
The other Indian students had become merely fodder for London life. They were more interested in romancing with white girls. The studies were the last item on their priority list. Most of them returned with English wives instead of degrees. For an Indian an English wife was a matter of pride. The society accorded him higher status and respect.
But Mohandas Gandhi proved a different creature.
He could evolve his own rules and principles.
Meanwhile, he met an old English lady. They became friends and would meet often. The lady used to invite Mohandas to her home. On such occasions he would meet young English woman at her home. The old lady would openly try to get them together and have them come closer to each other. Simpl minded Mohandas could not understand the game. The old lady on her own could have been helping a lonely Indian youngman have some good time. When the young woman openly expressed her feelings then Mohandas suddenly realised what was going on. He felt sorry and was angry with himself for not being true to the young woman by not revealing his status of being married and father of a child.
He thought that he was guilty of cheating. He wanted to rectify his mistake as soon as possible. Mohandas felt too embarrassed to tell the young woman the reality face to face. He was not able to summon the courage. He wrote a letter to the young woman revealing the truth about himself and seeking her pardon for keeping her in the dark.
Thus, Mohandas kept committing some moral errors but correcting them like an honest student of Character University. He did not cheat any one consciously. May be, sometimes he did being carried away by human weaknesses but made up with sincere apology as soon as he realised his folly.
During his London stay he studied the political situation too. He met Dadabhai Naoroji, the Asian member of British Parliament and later the doyen of Indian freedom struggle.
Dadabhai Naoroji had started publishing a magazine called ‘India’ from London in 1890. And Mohandas used to go to attend the meetings of ‘Indian Association,’ an organisation of Indians.
On 11th June, 1891 the left London and sailed for India after registering himself as Barrister qualified to practice anywhere in British Empire.
